Chapter 20 - The Pale Door

Anastasya: "Something's wrong with the sun today."

That was the first thing she said when she opened her window.

It wasn't that the sun wasn't there. It was. But it looked bruised. Like someone had pressed fingers too hard into its light, leaving it smudged and violet at the edges. It didn't glow so much as it flickered, like a flame about to be snuffed.

She touched the charm around her neck. Still no pulse.

For weeks now, her body had felt heavier. The world blurred slightly at the edges every time she left the shrine. Her room, her school, her parents, all still there, all still behaving as if she were real. But more and more often, things slipped. Words didn’t stick to memory. Food didn’t taste right. And now the sun, even the sun, seemed to be sick.

She dressed slower than usual. Every motion took effort, like she was dragging herself out of molasses.

When she finally reached the school gates, Lev was there.

He was leaning against the brick wall, arms crossed, face unusually serious.

Lev: "Anastasya. We need to talk."

She stopped in place. The crowd flowed around them like water.

Anastasya: "That serious, huh? Is it the homework? I swear I turned it in this time."

Lev: "Not here. Not now. After school. Don’t go back to the shrine tonight. Not yet. I found something."

She tilted her head. Her smile faltered.

Anastasya: "You what?"

Lev: "Just promise me you won’t go tonight. Just one night off. That’s all I ask."

He looked genuinely scared. Not annoyed. Not playful. Scared.

...

The school day stretched like taffy. Every minute felt bent sideways. Anastasya stared at the clock so long she could swear its hands were moving backward.

In the library, she sat in the quietest corner, flipping through old folklore texts she’d already memorized. Nothing about the black mirror. Nothing about the arch behind the offering stones. Nothing about a boy with void eyes whispering promises.

But her hands kept shaking. Not out of fear, out of pressure. Like something behind her eyes wanted out.

Anastasya: "One night off. One night off. Just one night..."

...

The moment school ended, Lev pulled her away from the main road and led her to the edge of the town, where the oldest willow tree in town stood crooked beside a rusted bus stop.

He didn’t speak until they sat beneath the tree.

Lev: "I dreamed about you."

Anastasya: "You better not be about to confess something stupid."

Lev: "Not like that. Not even a dream, really. More like... a memory that wasn’t mine."

Anastasya blinked. That hit too close.

Lev: "You were in that shrine, right? Not just once. A lot."

She didn’t answer.

Lev: "I saw you. In a place I shouldn’t know exists. There was a door. Pale and smooth. You went through it. And you didn’t come back."

Her throat dried up.

Anastasya: "There is no pale door."

Lev: "Then where have you been going every night for seven months, Anastasya?"

Silence. Even the wind seemed to pause.

Lev: "Something's bleeding between that place and here. I think... I think you’re starting to be both. You can’t keep splitting like this. You’ll crack."

She clutched her charm. Still no pulse. No warmth.

Anastasya: "If there’s a door, I need to find it."

Lev: "No. If there’s a door, it might be the only thing keeping you from disappearing."

...

That night, she lied. She promised Lev she wouldn’t go. She went anyway.

The shrine welcomed her like a breathless hush. All the lights flickered when she entered. The sakura petals didn’t fall. The wind didn’t move.

Haruki was waiting on the garden steps, tossing a small stone into the air, catching it again and again.

Haruki: "You smell like a lie tonight."

Anastasya: "I thought you'd like that."

Haruki: "Only when I'm the one telling it."

She walked past him. Her steps were determined. Her charm hung heavy on her neck, useless.

She knew where she had to go.